Oklahoma City Thunder Jalen Williams suffers fresh injury setback

Jalen Williams suffered another injury setback as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 in Game Two of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday.

Williams was forced to leave the game during the opening quarter after appearing to aggravate his left hamstring. The 24-year-old received treatment near the Thunder bench before making his way to the locker room.

Oklahoma City later confirmed early in the third quarter that he would not return because of left hamstring tightness, with Cason Wallace replacing him in the starting line-up for the second half.

According to international media, Williams is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine whether he has suffered another strain to the same hamstring.

“He's going to get checked out,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the win levelled the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

“I don't deal in like hypotheticals, especially when doctors are involved. ... We'll see where he's at. We'll update him accordingly.”

Williams, who earned third-team All-NBA honours last season, has endured an injury-disrupted campaign.

He was limited to only 33 regular-season appearances after missing the opening 19 games while recovering from wrist surgery and later spending lengthy spells sidelined with hamstring problems.

Despite those setbacks, Williams had been outstanding in the play-offs, including a 26-point display in Game One against San Antonio.

“Obviously if we don't have him, it hurts,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“I still believe in this team though. We played a bunch of games without him, won big games without him. I still think we get the job done.”